NaLu Forever
by animeawesomenesslover
Summary: Natsu and Lucy are just realizing their feelings. When they go on a job, will they finally get the courage to confess them?


**A/N This is my first fanfic, so please be nice. I like it, and I think it's good, but I'm rather biased. Please read it and find out for yourself. This was inspired by the song "Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Sadly.**

"Mira, we're taking this job, okay?"

"All right. I'll take a note of it. Have fun with Natsu, Lucy," Mirajane said, her eyes sparkling in a way that Lucy did not like one bit. "All alone. Without even Happy to keep you two company. Why, anything could happen," she finished innocently, and maybe just a little hopefully.

Lucy's face turned bright red. "Sh-shut up, Mira! It's not like that! Natsu and I are just- friends-" But even she heard her voice break on the last word.

"Sure, Lu-chan," said Levy. "But you want to be more than friends with him, don't you?" She had the same gleam in her eyes as Mira.

_Great, now Levy's starting, too. _"Like you have room to talk, Levy-chan! I seem to remember a certain metal covered male who you appear to spend a lot of time with."

Now it was Levy's turn to blush. "N-no-"

"Back to the subject," Mira said, wanting to know if Lucy really did like Natsu so she could add NaLu to her list. She wanted to imagine their babies, as well. "Lucy, you can imagine why we think what we do. Like Erza says, the fastest way to find Natsu is to look in your house. You've been going on a lot of jobs alone with him. I've even heard that he sleeps in your bed sometimes- with you still in it."

"WHAT?" squealed Levy. "I haven't heard that one yet! Is it true, Lu-chan?"

Lucy turned even more red (if that was possible) and started waving her hands wildly in negative motions. "No! I just wake up with him in my bed sometimes!" Mentally, she facepalmed herself. _Why did I say that? Now they're going to think I like him! Even though I do… But they don't need to know that!_

Levy started squealing even louder, and Mira looked like she was about to pass out from happiness. Meanwhile, Juvia, who was listening in on the conversation from behind a pillar, was very happy. "My love rival has a boyfriend! Maybe she'll finally learn to stay away from my Gray-sama!" she said with hearts in her eyes. After a minute, she snapped out of thoughts of Gray. "I must do everything I can to get those two together so I don't have to worry anymore!" And she took off to find Natsu, leaving a lot of confused people behind her.

"Hey, any idea what Juvia was thinking about?" asked Macao.

"No, but I doubt it was anything good. Her eyes were scary!" shuddered Wakaba.

"Being scary is Man!" yelled Elfman. Everyone around him sweat dropped.

Juvia found Natsu with Gray. The two were fighting. Again.

"Pervert!"

"Flamebrain!"

"Ice Princess!"

"Hot headed baka!"

Lucy, across the room, got fed up with Mirajane and Levy's matchmaking, and stood up. "Well, anyways, I gotta go now. I have to get money to pay my rent." She looked around the room, spotting Natsu. "Natsu! Let's go! I've got another job!"

Natsu perked up. "A job? Okay, Luce! Just let me finish this up." He hit Gray a few more times, then stood up and started jogging toward Lucy, weaving around the tables. Juvia, with an evil look in her eyes, stopped him.

"Hey, Natsu, do you know that Lucy has a crush on you?"

Natsu stopped, confused. "What's that? It sounds painful."

Juvia facepalmed. "I forgot how stupid you are. Unlike my Gray-sama…" She trailed off, hearts in her eyes again as she daydreamed.

Natsu sighed. "Look, Juvia, was there something you wanted, or what? Cause I'm kind of in a hurry."

Juvia remembered what she was doing, and quickly shook her head. Her eyes turned evil again. "Lucy likes you, Natsu."

"Of course she likes me. I like here to. We're nakama," he said, even more confused.

"No, Natsu! I mean, she _likes _you!" Juvia said, extremely frustrated.

"I'm lost," Natsu said, sweatdropping. His thoughts, however, told a different story. _Does she really like me? _His heart started beating faster. _How am I supposed to know if she likes me or not? I have no idea- But Juvia would know, right? She's one of Lucy's friends. But why would she tell me that Lucy liked me? Agh, my head hurts. _"Well, I gotta go. Later, Juvia!" He continued on his way to Lucy, who was tapping her foot impatiently. Juvia sweatdropped.

"How dense can he be?" Gray asked, obviously having heard the conversation.

Juvia looked at him with hearts in her eyes. "Gray-sama!" She pounced on him.

His eyes widened. "Juvia! Get off me! What are you- Help! Someone, anyone, help me!"

Erza walked over. She had heard the conversation, too. "Don't worry, Gray. Natsu's not that stupid. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough."

"Like that Flame-for-brains could ever figure anything out," Gray snickered. "Seriously, Juvia! Get off!"

"Gray-sama! I love you!"

"So, Luce, what is it this time?" Natsu asked, locking his hands behind his head.

"We're supposed to stop a gang of robbers in Hargeon. They're been stealing and hurting people for a while. And, the best part is, the reward is 600,000 jewl!"

"Wow, that's a lot of money!" Natsu said, his eyes wide. "But... You said Hargeon… That means… Train… Oh no-" And then his face turned green and he started staggering all over the road.

"Natsu! Seriously, get a grip! Natsu!" He was still stumbling around.

Suddenly, he stumbled toward Lucy, whether on accident or on purpose, even he couldn't tell. He fell on her, knocking them both to the ground.

"Natsu-" Lucy said, her face bright red at the awkward position they were in; Natsu was on top of her, and their foreheads were almost touching.

He came out of his motion sickness induced fog, and realized how close they were. For a moment, Lucy thought-hoped- that he would kiss her. Their lips were inches away from each other.

"Oh, sorry, Luce. I guess I got a little carried away. I didn't mean to knock you over." He was trying his best not to blush, and he mostly succeeded. _Dang it! You idiot! You had the perfect opportunity to kiss her, and you blew it! How stupid are you?!_

Lucy couldn't hide her blush, as she was brushing off her skirt, and she was also cursing. _How could I be stupid enough to think he was going to kiss me?! To him, we are just nakama. He's too immature to ever like girls, let alone me. I'm just his best friend. I'm such an idiot!_

"So. On to the-"He started turning green again- "train."

"Y-yeah," Lucy managed.

They continued walking, a little farther apart than before, each alone with their thoughts. They kept berating themselves over and over again.

As they started to get on the train, Natsu collapsed.

"Natsu! Dang it-" Lucy grabbed his arms and proceeded to drag him to an empty compartment. It took about ten minutes, and the train was moving by that time, making Natsu moan very loudly.

Lucy shook her head. "You're such a wimp, Natsu."

"Am not," he said, each word separated by a gasp. "I'm just motion sick."

"Well, we have to get you on a seat, and there's no way I can pick you up. You'll have to help me."

"Great," he moaned. With a lot of Lucy's help, he managed to stand up enough to lie down on a seat. Lucy moved to sit down across from him, but he grabbed her hand, and before she knew what was going on, he had pulled her down so she was sitting on the bench next to his head. He then went even further, and scooted up so his head was on her lap. Then he fell asleep.

Lucy's face was bright red. She looked around to see if there was anyone looking at the scene the two of them were making, and realized they were alone. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked down at Natsu on her lap. _He's so cute when he's sleeping. He looks so relaxed… _

Hesitantly, she brushed some stray pink hairs out of his face. She sat there staring at his face for a long time. The face of the man who had brought her to Fairy Tail. The man who had saved her life countless times. The face of the man she was in love with.

A loud voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Hargeon in two minutes! We stop at Hargeon in two minutes! All passengers planning to get off at Hargeon, be prepared!"

Lucy started in surprise. _Already? That went by fast. _"Natsu," she said, shaking him. He groaned in response. "Natsu! Wake up!"

"Five more minutes, Luce…" he muttered.

"No, Natsu . Now!" She moved out from under his head and stood. His head hit the bench with a thud.

"Ouch! That hurt!" he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Why are you so mean, Lucy?"

"I'm not mean! We're here, Natsu. If we don't get off soon, the train will leae again, and we'll have to ride it to the next station, and then catch another train back here."

Natsu was off the train faster than Lucy's eyes could see. She chuckled. _I knew that would work._

Lucy walked off the train to the sight of Natsu on his hands and knees kissing the ground. He was muttering, "I'm alive! It's over! I'm free!" over and over again.

"Natsu, come on. Let's go. It's time to go find our employer."

"Okay, Luce," he said. "Where are we going first?"

Lucy read the address out loud. "173 Sakura Road." She looked up. "Where the heck is Sakura Road?"

"I don't know, but you answered wrong." He grabbed her hand and took off, ignoring her protests.

Several minutes later, Natsu skidded to a stop in front of a restaurant. "This is where we're going first!" he said, not even panting.

Lucy, on the other hand, was panting hard. "You are crazy!" she said in between deep breaths.

Natsu laughed evilly. "Why, thank you! But I don't know why you're only mentioning it now. We've known each other for a long time, you know!"

"What are we doing here?" Lucy asked, almost done catching her breath.

He looked at her like she was stupid. "Eating. Duh." He opened the door, and was gentlemanly enough to hold it for her.

He also pulled her chair out for her. "Thanks, Natsu!" _I could get used to this! _

As he sat down across from her, she looked around. "Wait a second. I've been here before, haven't I?"

"Oh, yeah," he said casually. "This is where you bought our first meal together."

She gasped. "You remembered? Even I didn't!"

He shrugged. "I always remember food. And I remember this food was good!"

Two hours and a whole lot of money later, Natsu sat back in his chair. "That was amazing! Thanks for paying, Lucy!"

"Yeah, sure Natsu," she said, giving him the evil eye as she looked at the total on her receipt. It was too high to even think about. _That must be why he was being so nice to me. _ "So, should we do the job now? Or do you want to go to sleep? It's almost dark."

"Hmmmm… I want to go on the job! I'm not tired yet," said Natsu.

Lucy sweatdropped. _He didn't take the hint. I'm tired, and I want to sleep. Oh well. Might as well go now._

"Kay. Let's go find Sakura Road!"

Another hour later, Lucy was entirely turned around. Natsu just followed her around like he was thinking about something, and when she tried to talk to him he just grunted. She was getting a little frustrated at him. They weren't getting anywhere, and he wasn't being any help.

"Natsu, I think we should try again in the morning. It's getting really dark now, and I don't think it would be a good idea to try to attack a bunch of bad guys-"

"This way," he said suddenly, grabbing her hand and pulling. He didn't run this time, but she was still angry at him. _He's been ignoring me for the past hour, and suddenly he just grabs me and expects me to go with him? _But there was nothing she could do about it. Natsu had a very strong grip on her hand, and she had absolutely no hope of pulling away.

They walked for a while, and Lucy lost track of time. All she knew was she was walking through the beautiful town of Hargeon at night holding the hand of her favorite fire dragon slayer. She was content.

Finally, Natsu stopped. Lucy looked around and saw that they were standing at a crossroads. "We're here!" Natsu said grandly.

Lucy looked at the sign, and it said Sakura Road. "How did you find it?" she asked, amazed.

He smiled at her tone. "It's Sakura Road, right? Look at the trees lining the side of the road."

Lucy looked closely at them, and gasped. "They're Sakura trees! How did you find them from halfway across the city?"

He gave her another strange look. "I smelled them," he said.

She mentally facepalmed. "That's right, I forgot you were half bloodhound."

"Dragon," he corrected her, and grinned. "Now, let's find our employer."

"Okay!" she said, ready to tackle the job.

As they walked down the streets, Lucy looked at the house numbers. "125, 133, 139, 143, 147, 157, 165, 173! Finally!" She looked up at the house. "Wow, this is pretty big! It's kind of cool! I wonder what the person is like…" She disappeared into her speculative thoughts, muttering to herself occasionally.

Natsu sighed and knocked on the door. After a couple of minutes, a young woman dressed in a maid's costume opened the door. "Are you the wizards?"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Natsu.

"Right this way. My master is expecting you."

_Master, _Lucy thought. _So it's a guy who's employing us._

"All right. Thank you!" said the ever polite (not) Lucy.

They walked up a long flight of stairs and down a very long hallway to a large pair of double doors. The maid knocked on one of them and said, "Master, the wizards are here."

"Send them in!" yelled a deep, booming voice.

_Yup. Definitely a guy, _Lucy thought.

The maid opened one door. "Go in, please. Good luck," she whispered as they walked past.

_What does she mean?_ Lucy wondered.

There was a tall man with dark hair in a room that was the size of the entire Fairy Tail building, his back to them. He was facing a window that took up three quarters of the wall.

"You're late," said the same booming voice. "I expected you hours ago."

"I apologize, sir. We stopped for dinner, and then we got lost." She bowed. Natsu just stood there staring into space. Lucy glanced at him, and she couldn't read his expression. That worried her, but she wasn't sure why.

At the sound of her voice, the man turned around. He saw her and froze. He scanned her up and down for a minute. Lucy started to get uncomfortable.

"Hello, miss. My name is John. I apologize for seeming cross earlier." He crossed the room, grabbed her hand gently, and kissed it. "I am just worried, as I am a large target, and I have seen several suspicious characters recently. It's rather unnerving. In fact, there's one here now." He was still holding her hand, which made her extremely uncomfortable. He used that hand to pull her to the window, pointing out the man who was loitering almost obviously outside the window, watching the house. Her heart started beating faster for some unknown reason.

Natsu, through this whole exchange, was furious. He was glaring so hard at John that if looks could kill, you wouldn't be able to see the guy under all the sharp things impaling him. While the guy completely ignored him, Natsu was using all his self control to avoid punching him in the face.

When he heard Lucy's heart beating faster, that was the last straw. He walked over and tapped the man's shoulder. "So, what are we supposed to be doing?"

The guy was so surprised, he finally dropped Lucy's hand. He really hadn't realized that Natsu was there. Also, Natsu's face was kind of scary. Like, really scary.

Natsu almost cheered, but he stopped himself just in time. "What are we supposed to do?" he repeated.

"Oh, um," said the man, regaining his composure. "I would like you to follow that man when he leaves. I'm certain he'll lead you to the hideout of the filthy robbers." He clenched his fist. "I'm also certain they'll try to rob me next, and I can't be robbed now."

"Why not?" asked Lucy, curious.

"Oh just… Reasons. They don't concern you," he said nervously.

"He's got an illegal wine trade going on," said Natsu unexpectedly. John's face went white. "Right now, he's got a lot of wine in a room downstairs somewhere. It just recently came in. And he doesn't want them to find it and take it. It's gotta be expensive," he concluded smugly.

"Wh-what?" the man stuttered. "How did you- I mean, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Smooth, guy. Anyways, that's not our problem. As long as you can pay us, we'll do your job. Come on, Luce." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door, leaving a very shocked man behind him.

Lucy was speechless as well. _What in the world just happened? Was Natsu being jealous, or just being impatient? _"Hey, Natsu."

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

"How did you know about his wine trade?"

"Oh, that. Well, I could smell a large amount of wine when we were downstairs. I could also smell a lot of people who weren't normally in the house, which meant there had to be a lot, cause he couldn't just bring it in himself, and he didn't want any servants to know. Or very few."

"But how did you know it was illegal?"

"I didn't. That was a guess. But as soon as he heard the word 'illegal,' he turned white as a sheet, which led me to the fact that it must be illegal, and therefore expensive. Because you don't sell cheap wine illegally." He said all that as if he did that kind of thing all the time.

Lucy stared at him in astonishment. _Will he ever stop surpising me? This man I'm in love with… is amazing! _

"Lucy? Are you okay?" Natsu waved his hand in front of her face. "Lucy, we have a job to do."

She snapped out of it. When she realized what she had been doing. She blushed. "Yeah," she said, nodding, trying to cover up the blush. "Let's go!"

Two hours later, the man was still standing around. He had barely moved.

"I say we jump him!" said Natsu, lighting his fist on fire.

"No, Natsu! He has to take us to the hideout!" Lucy whisper-yelled.

"He can take us if we jump him! It's not like we're going to kill him! He could still show us the way! We've been sitting here for forever! I can't take it anymore!" Natsu said, louder than before.

"Shh, Natsu! Quiet! We can't. Just wait a little longer, and we'll follow him to the base, where you can beat up as many as you want!"

"Fine," he said, even though his eyes lit up when she mentioned fighting; it was the only thing he loved more than food, other than Lucy. Because he did love her. Everything about her, from he smile to her laugh to her soft hands to her kind heart, and everything in between. _She's got to be the most beautiful woman ever. I need to get around to telling her that. _

And, sure enough, five minutes later, the man finally moved. He started heading down the road.

"Lucy! He's moving! Now I can beat him up!" Natsu stood up to chase after the guy.

"Wait! You idiot!" Lucy grabbed his ankle, causing him to faceplant on the ground.

"Ow! Lucy!"

"Sorry, Natsu. But you can't beat him up. He hasn't got us there yet! We still need him!"

"Can't I beat him up just a little?" Natsu gave her puppy dog eyes.

"No!"

"Awwww…"

"Now come one, before we lose him!"

They stood up and started following the guy as quietly as possible.

After a huge amount of twisting and turning, they finally got to where the guy appeared to be going: an ordinary house on an ordinary street. Nothing special about it.

"That must be why they've been left unchecked for so long. No one could find them," Lucy whispered, turning to Natsu. Only Natsu wasn't there.

He was running towards the house, being surprisingly stealthy and silent. Lucy cursed under her breath and ran after him, but she had no hope of keeping up. He was too fast. She reached down to her belt where she kept her whip and her keys.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" yelled Lucy. A young girl with short pink hair and blue eyes appeared.

"You called me, Princess? Is it time for punishment?"

"No!" said Lucy, sweatdropping. "I need you to help me catch up with Natsu! I can't do it on my own!"

"Yes, Princess." Virgo picked her up and took off.

Meanwhile, Natsu was at the house already, and for once he was actually thinking. _How should I do this? Do I want to kick the door down, or jump in through a window? _ While he was debating this, Lucy and Virgo arrived. Virgo wasn't even panting, while Lucy looked extremely frazzled, with her hair sticking out in all directions.

"Punishment now, Princess?"

"No. Just go home, Virgo." Virgo disappeared, going back to the spirit world.

"Oh, hey Luce. What took you so long?" Natsu said casually.

"Natsu, you-" she sighed loudly and facepalmed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Stop talking so I can decide how to beat them all up?" he said hopefully.

"Just bust open the door and take em out, I guess. That's your style, isn't it?"

"I kind of wanted to burst in through a window."

"Yeah, cause you're so good at that. You do it all the time at my house," she said under her breath.

"Anyways, whichever I do, I want to know what you plan to do. I don't want to have to worry about keeping you safe."

Lucy looked at him in surprise. "You've never cared before. Why now?"

"Because, Luce. These guys could be dangerous. And I don't want you to get hurt," he said earnestly, looking at her with those breathtaking onyx eyes.

"Awwww… You're so cute when you're worried! Don't worry, I'll probably just stand off to the side and summon Loke. He'll be able to help you take them down."

"No!" Natsu said forcefully. "I want to do it on my own." _But mostly I don't want Loke there. He'll start hitting on Lucy, and I can't let that happen._

"Oh," said Lucy, surprised. She shrugged. "Okay. If that's all you wanted to say, we might as well start this up. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner I can sleep."

Natsu looked at her in concern. "Are you tired?"

"Oh, no, not really," Lucy said quickly. "Just anticipating being tired when this is over." _I really am tired, but I don't want to worry him any more than I already am. That might cause him to not fight his best, and I need him to take most, if not all, of them out._

"Just so you know, most of them are in a big room just off the room the door opens into."

"Got it."

"Okay. Let's get this party started!" Punching the air, he stood up and jumped through the nearest window, scattering glass everywhere. He hit the ground in the room running, heading towards the room where everyone was.

There were a lot of shouts as the sound of breaking glass that Natsu had caused registered in the minds of the gang members. Natsu smiled maliciously. _This is going to be fun, _he thought.

He started out with punching a guy in the face with his flaming fist. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" He then turned to the rest of the room and grinned devilishly. "Who's next?"

There was much screaming.

While Natsu was having the time of his life beating up the gang, Lucy gingerly climbed in through the window he had broken. _That kid… He's so destructive! _

She quietly walked into the room, narrowly dodging a man that Natsu had thrown across the room. "Sorry, Luce!" he yelled.

She smiled and watched him as he continued to solidly kick their butts. _Why'd I have to fall in love with this dense, extremely hot man who loves eating and food, and has no interest in the female half of the population? _She had seen so many admiring looks aimed at him today alone, and he hadn't seemed to notice any of them.

As she was enjoying the show he was putting on, she failed to notice a guy on the other side of the room who was taking careful aim.

Natsu had just finished beating up all the other guys, and brushed off his clothes. He turned to Lucy. "Did you see that, Luce? I'm awesome!"

She cheered and smiled her smile at him, the smile that he loved more than anything in the world. He opened his mouth to tell her that, and then he saw something that made his blood turn cold.

She had a red dot on her forehead. Like the ones that sharpshooters use.

"Lucy!" he yelled, running as fast as he could towards her.

A shot rang out, echoing through the large room.

And, in slow motion, or at least it seemed like slow motion to Lucy, Natsu fell to the ground.

"NATSU!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, rushing forward. She knelt down next to him. "Natsu, are you okay? Oh my gosh, you're bleeding. Oh gosh, what do I do?" He had a hole in his stomach.

"I'm fine, Luce," he said, wincing in pain. "I'm… Fine…" And with that, he passed out.

"Natsu!" She put her head on his chest. _He still has a heartbeat. He doesn't seem to be seriously injured… But then, how would I know? I'm not Wendy! Well, I have to do something to stop the bleeding. But first, I have something else to take care of. _

She stood, her bangs covering her eyes. She started walking towards the last man standing, a bluenette with the gun that had shot Natsu in his hand. He was reloading his gun. She pulled her whip off her belt. His eyes widened, and he kept reloading, trying to go as fast as he could.

It wasn't fast enough. Lucy cracked her whip once, and then she proceeded to practically kill the man. After about three minutes, he was bleeding a lot, and moaning. Lucy kept going, taking out all her anger and frustration on the poor idiot. "This is for shooting my love! How dare you!"

Just then, Natsu moaned. Lucy came to her senses, and realized that her whip was covered in blood. She looked at the bloody, moaning man in front of her, and nearly went into shock. _I did that? He's almost dead! _

But she couldn't dwell on it. "Natsu!" she said, running to his side.

His face was twisted with pain, and his eyes were closed. _Oh, gosh. I've got to get him to a hospital! _She carefully tried to pick him up, but she couldn't. She reached down and grabbed a key.

"Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!" she yelled.

Loke appeared in a burst of light. "Why, hello beautiful. Did you need me?"

"Loke, I need you to help me carry Natsu to a hospital," said the blonde frantically. "He got shot, and he's losing a lot of blood!"

"Okay, beautiful." He picked up Natsu carefully, and carried him while Lucy hovered by Natsu's head.

"Don't worry, Natsu! We'll get you to a hospital, and you're going to be okay!" She repeated this over and over again, more to reassure herself than him.

When they finally got to the hospital, Lucy was starting to get hysterical. "Help, please! My friend was just shot, and he needs medical attention!"

A nurse stood. "Come this way, miss! He needs to get to the Emergency Room!"

"Okay! Come on, Loke!" They followed the nurse. As they arrived in the emergency room, the nurse had Loke put Natsu on the bed. The sheets started to turn red.

The nurse peeled Natsu's blood soaked shirt off of him. He grimaced in pain, but remained unconscious. She examined the wound, and then she calmly called for doctors.

"Well, will he be okay?" asked Lucy.

The nurse looked at her. "I don't know."

Lucy started panicking. "You mean he might not?!"

"It's too early to tell."

"Natsu!" Lucy knelt down next to the bed and grabbed his hand. "Natsu, don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare! I need you here with me! You can't leave me alone!"

Then the doctors arrived and told her she had to leave the room. Loke, who was still there, led her out of the room gently. The nurse who had led them to the Emergency Room closed the door behind them.

He guided her to a bench, where she sat down. He sat down next to her. "Do you want me to stay with you, or should I go?"

Suddenly, she turned and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing. He had a surprised expression on his face for a second. Then he put his arms around her, understanding her need for human contact.

They just sat there for a while, her crying her heart out, him holding her quietly. When she ran out of tears, she pulled away from the embrace and wiped her eyes and face. "I'm sorry. I just… I don't know what I'll do if he dies."

"I know. I understand. I'll stay with you at least until the doctors come out, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." She started staring into space, thinking about all the times she could have confessed. It's funny how when something like someone being shot happens, all the regrets you have about them suddenly come to the surface of your mind.

Loke just accepted that, and put his arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her as best he could.

Several hours later, the door to the room opened, and the nurse stepped out. Lucy immediately jumped up. Loke had been dozing, and he shook himself awake.

"Well? Is he okay?" Lucy asked desperately.

"They cleaned the wound, and there weren't any vital organs damaged. There were no other injuries besides the gun wound. He should make a full recovery." Lucy smiled, relieved. The nurse continued. "But, he hasn't woken up yet. He appears to be in a coma. There's no way to tell if he'll ever wake up. I'm sorry," she said gently.

Lucy turned and buried her face in Loke's shoulder, her body shaking with sobs again.

He held her as the nurse let the doctors behind her out of the room. They all saw Lucy, crying hard, and looked at her with pity before going off to their other patients. The nurse walked back into the room.

"You can see him if you would like to," she said. Lucy pulled her face off of Loke's shoulder and walked like a zombie into the hospital room of the man she loved.

He was lying on the bed without a shirt on. He had clean white bandages wrapped all around his abdomen. His face was peaceful now. His chest moved up and down rhythmically. _He looks like he's sleeping, _Lucy thought. _Like he could wake up at any moment. _

She walked to the bed, still in a daze, and sat in the chair next to it. She grabbed his hand gently and held it in both of hers. "Please wake up, Natsu. Please. I can't live without you," she said plaintively, her voice breaking through the whole statement.

Loke watched quietly from the doorway with the nurse. "What are the chances of him waking up?" he asked her quietly.

She looked grim. "Not very good. He went into shock, and his mind just shut down. There's no telling if he'll ever wake up."

Loke frowned. "That's bad." He walked over to Lucy and tapped her shoulder. "I'm going to leave now, okay? I'll send Virgo or someone else out to keep you company, okay?"

Lucy nodded numbly. "That sounds great." She continued staring at Natsu's face, willing him to sit up and give her his trademark grin. The one that made her heart melt. But he kept lying there, doing nothing except breathe. "Please don't die…"

At one point, the police arrived, and asked Lucy how it had happened. She gave the address of the house where they had found the gang and told them how one of them had shot Natsu. They thanked her for her cooperation, and left her alone.

Soon after this, Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Levy burst into the room. Aries was sitting next to Lucy, who was still holding Natsu's hand. He hadn't moved at all.

Aries jumped when all the people suddenly appeared. "M-mistress," she stuttered. "I'm going to go home now!" She disappeared.

"Is he okay?" asked Erza frantically.

"Don't tell me the flamehead is-" Gray started.

"Shut up, Gray!" Levy cut him off. He looked at her in surprise, but looked appropriately ashamed.

"Don't talk to Gray-sama like that!" said Juvia, but there was no real force behind her words. They were all worried.

"Is he gong to be okay?" asked Erza again. Lucy looked up as if she had just realized that they were there.

"They don't know." She had to force the words out. "They don't know. He might never wake up."

"Lu-chan… I am so sorry," said Levy, sitting down next to Lucy and giving her a hug.

Lucy just sat there staring at Natsu, not reacting in any way.

Erza spoke. "Lucy, Master wants us to move him to Fairy Tail. Maybe there's something Wendy can do for him. And he'd want to be at Fairy Tail more than this stuffy hospital."

Lucy nodded. "Let's go."

The nurse from earlier walked in with a stretcher. "Be careful. He shouldn't be treated roughly. It might cause his wound to open up again."

Gray and Erza transferred him to the stretcher, and they carefully carried him out to the waiting Magic Vehicle. Lucy didn't let go of his hand. They lay him out on a bench, and Lucy pulled his head onto her lap, and started stroking his forehead and hair. He didn't react to being in a vehicle, but his face seemed to relax once Lucy put his head on her lap. Erza was in charge of the SE-plug, and she didn't drive very fast. She didn't want to hurt Natsu.

When they made it to Magnolia, Erza drove a little faster. They stopped in front of the guild, and put Natsu back on the stretcher. They carried him inside, while Lucy held his hand again. The mood in the guild was unusually somber. Cana wasn't drinking anything, and everyone was quiet. They watched Erza and Gray carry Natsu to the sick room, and they saw Lucy holding his hand, her eyes puffy and her mouth in a worried frown. She looked devastated.

They carried him into the sick room and put him on a bed. Then they withdrew to a corner of the room and started talking quietly. Makarov walked in at that point.

"So, you're back. I expect the job was successful?" he asked.

Lucy nodded. "Natsu beat all of them up," she said, her voice catching as she said his name.

Makarov nodded. "I wouldn't expect less of him. I'll send someone to collect your reward for you."

Lucy nodded again. "Thank you," she said mechanically.

"Oh, my child," he said. "I am sorry that you have to experience this."

She ran toward the little man and picked him up, bawling. He hugged her tight. _For her sake, if for no one else's, I hope Natsu wakes up. _

After a few minutes she put him down and walked back to the chair that someone had put by the bed. She sat down in it and grabbed Natsu's hand again, as if she believed that if she held it long enough, he would get up.

A month later, he still hadn't moved. Lucy hadn't left his side for longer than a minute during that whole month. She was still holding his hand. She had barely let go of it, barely slept, barely ate, barely done anything for herself.

When he woke up, she was dozing. He didn't open his eyes for a while, but he felt something warm touching his hand. His eyes felt like they were glued shut, and it took a while to get them open. When he finally did, the first thing he saw as he turned his head was two hands holding his. He smiled, realizing who it must be. He knew the touch of those hands better than anything in the world.

He looked up and saw the face of the most beautiful woman in the world. Her eyes were closed, but even when she was asleep he saw the bags under her eyes and the puffiness of the eyes themselves. He saw how thin she had gotten, like she had barely eaten for a long time. He sighed to himself, wondering what had happened. The last thing he remembered was the red dot, and running towards her, and then seeing a look of pure and unfiltered terror on her face before feeling a lot of pain in his abdomen.

He glanced down and saw some bandages. He tried to sit up, and felt a twinge of pain. He sat up anyways, and it felt really good to stretch. He took a few moments to stretch more, and then he turned to Lucy. "Luce," he said, touching her cheek with the hand that she wasn't holding. "Lucy, wake up."

She opened her eyes and blink a few times, still half asleep. She stared at him uncomprehendingly for a few seconds, then her eyes filled with confusion. "Natsu?"

He gave her his trademark grin. "Hey, Luce. How are you?"

Her eyes widened. "Natsu! You're awake!" She tackled him, giving him a tight hug. He felt another twinge of pain, but he didn't say anything because he was enjoying the hug.

They sat like that for a long time, and then he gently pushed her away, holding her shoulders. "What happened? Why have you been crying?"

She looked at him, still unbelieving. "You were shot in that house by a robber." She clenched her fist. "I took you to a hospital, and apparently you went into a coma. You've been asleep for a month."

"That long?" he said, surprised.

She nodded. "Oh, Natsu! I'm so happy you're back!" She tackled him again, and he smiled and put his arms around her. "Thank you for not dying," she said, her voice muffled by his chest.

He smiled even wider. "You're welcome. Thank you for waiting for me, and not giving up."

She pulled out of the embrace, and she looked up at him, drinking in the sight of him, sitting up and awake. As she did this, he stared at her as well. And then he started leaning down. They both closed their eyes. And then their lips touched.

They both felt fireworks shooting through their bodies. It was a sweet, long kiss. They put their arms around each other, and Lucy smiled against Natsu's lips.

When they ran out of air, they broke the kiss and sat next to each other panting. "I've wanted to do that for so long," said Natsu.

"I have, too," Lucy admitted.

They grinned at each other. Then Lucy gasped. "I've got to tell the rest of the guild!"

She jumped off the bed and took off out the door. The first person she ran into was Mira. Mira was holding a tray of food. She was the one that had made Lucy eat during the time Natsu was asleep. Otherwise Lucy would have wasted away.

Mira looked at Lucy in surprise. Lucy had a huge smile on her face. "He's awake!"

"What? Really?" Mira said, not quite believing it.

"Yes, really! He's up!" Lucy said, loving the sound of those words in the same sentence.

"That's great!" said Mira, ecstatic.

"He's probably really hungry, so you take that in to him. I'll grab some more, and tell everyone else," said Lucy, rushing around Mira and out into the guild hall. "Everyone! He's finally awake!"

"Natsu's awake!" yelled Happy, zooming down the hall.

"He is?" said Erza hopefully.

"The flamehead's awake?" said Gray.

"I told you he would wake up, Lu-chan!" said Levy.

"That's awesome!" said Macao.

Everyone stood up and started heading towards the sick room to see it for themselves. Lucy went to the kitchen and found Lisanna cooking.

"Lisanna, he's awake!"  
"Really?! I'm so happy for you, Lucy!" she said.

"I'd like to bring in some food to him. Mira has a little she was bringing to me, but he's going to want more."

"Okay! I'll help you!"

Meanwhile, in the sick room, everyone was staring at Natsu. Happy was sitting next to him on the bed, purring a lot.

He decided to break the ice. "Yo," he said casually around a mouthful of food.

Gray stared at him. "You've been asleep for a month, and all you can say is 'yo?' You really do have flames for brains!"

"Shut up, you pervy popsicle! At least I don't strip all the time!"

Erza whacked Natsu on the head. "Ow! Erza, what was that for?"

"How dare you worry everyone like that! Especially Lucy!"

"She didn't leave your side at all, Natsu!" said Mira, happy to continue her matchmaking now that it was certain the pair would be able to get together.

"Really?" he said.

"Really. She barely slept, and she barely ate anything. She was so worried!" said Levy. "We were all worried about her. But now you're awake, and she's going to be fine now."

"She liiiiiiikes you," said Happy.

He smiled. As he finished the simple bread and cheese, he looked around for Lucy. She wasn't anywhere that he could see. After congratulating him on his recovery, most of his guild mates left. Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Mira stayed.

Makarov walked into the room. "So, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I hurt a little, but I think I'm okay."

"Good. Congratulations on waking up. We were really worried that you wouldn't ever wake up. Especially Lucy. You should be really nice to her for the next while."

He grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I will."

She walked in with Lisanna carrying a lot of food. "Is it all for me?" he asked eagerly.

"All of it except for this," she said, snagging a roll and putting the trays on his bedside table. He gladly devoured all of it. Lucy just watched him, loving every second of it.

When he finished, he said, "Thanks, Luce. Now, is it okay for me to get out of this bed?"

"I don't see why not," said Mira. "As long as it doesn't hurt too much, you should be perfectly fine."

"All right." He stood up, testing his legs. They were fine, and he smiled. "Lucy, I have an important question for you. I meant to ask you right after we finished our mission, but things got in the way. So I'll just ask you now." While he was saying this, Mira gestured that they should give the couple some privacy. They all filed out.

"Lucy, will you go out on a date with me?" he said as fast as he could."

She cocked her head. "What?"

He sighed. "Lucy, will you go on a date with me?" It was a little slower, and she could actually understand him. She blushed, staring at him.

After about a minute, he chuckled nervously. "Maybe I misinterpreted the kiss earlier, but I got the feeling that you liked it. I did too, and I'd like to do that more. And the only way I see that happening is if we start dating. So, will you? Please?" He was starting to get worried. _Maybe she doesn't want to. Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe-_

"Yes. Of course, Natsu!" She tackled him in another hug, catching him off guard. He almost lost his balance, but he managed to steady himself. He returned the hug, and then broke the hug. Grabbing her chin gently, he leaned down and kissed her again. She gladly returned it.

When they needed air, they stopped. They sat down on the bed next to each other. "Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, Luce?" he said, a little worried at the seriousness of her tone.

"Why did you jump in front of that bullet?"

"Oh, that. I didn't want you to die," he said simply.

"But if you had died, I don't know what I would've done. I can't live without you, Natsu."

Natsu grabbed her head so she was looking at him. "Lucy, if I had died, then I would've considered my mission complete. I refuse to let you get shot. Because I can't live without you, either. I will never let you fall," he finished softly.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with emotion. "I love you, Natsu."

He smiled. "I love you too, Lucy." Then he frowned.

"What is it?" she asked him, concerned.

"It's just… I have no idea what to do on a date," he admitted.

She laughed. "Oh, Natsu. You're so stupid sometimes."

"Hey! I resent that!" he said, playfully punching her arm.

"We could just go shopping."

He groaned. "Please, no. Anything but that."

She humphed. "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Can we get food?" he said hopefully. "That's what some people do, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. Food it is! But before that, I need to get some sleep. I haven't really slept in a month!"

"I've done nothing but sleep for a month. I think I'll stay awake. Maybe I'll hang out with Happy or beat up Gray or something."

"Kay. See you later, Natsu."

"Nuh-uh. You're not getting away that easily," he said. He picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the guild. She was giggling.

"Natsu, put me down!"

"Nope." He carried her all the way to her house. He opened her door and carried her to her bed. As he set her down, she looked up at him in adoration.

"Don't be a dream, okay?"

He smiled down at her. "I'm not a dream. I love you, Lucy. Good night." And with that, he jumped out her window. As he hit the ground, he pumped his fist. "I did it!" He ran around Magnolia whooping, waking up everyone and causing a lot of people to yell at him.

Lucy sat in bed. As she fell asleep, she had the biggest smile on her face. _Natsu and I are officially going out. I can't wait!_

**A/N Please be nice to me! If you liked it, review and tell me you liked it, and give me more ideas. If you didn't like it, review and tell me you didn't like it, and give me more ideas. Either way, PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me feel good about myself. XD But anyways, I would like to know if I should add a date scene, or if I should just leave it as is. Please tell me, and give me ideas if I should add a date. Peace out!**

** -animeawesomenesslover**


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